HISTORY TIP OF THE DAY

Jacqueline Kennedy brings the Mona Lisa to the United States, January 8th, 1963

Jacqueline Kennedy looks stunning in a pink gown and dangling diamond earrings. She makes small talk with André Malraux, the French minister of culture. As she stands in the National Gallery of Art, she turns to look at a painting: La Gioconda, better known as the Mona Lisa. About a year ago, Jackie had made a discreet request to Malraux, who then arranged the loan of the painting, which, except for evacuation during the world wars, had never left the Louvre. “Mona Mania” grips the country; more than a million Americans will view it at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.